2013—Rosemary Barkett’s 34-year Reign of Error in the American judiciary—first in Florida’s lower courts, then as a state supreme court justice (and chief justice), and finally as a federal appellate judge—comes to an end, as she retires from the Eleventh Circuit and accepts a position as an arbitrator on the Iran-United States Claims Tribunal in The Hague. How much damage Barkett can inflict in her new position is unclear, as the dysfunctional Tribunal has jurisdiction only over claims filed more than three decades earlier.
2024—After being thwarted by the Georgia supreme court in his first kooky effort to block enforcement of the state ban on post-heartbeat abortions, Georgia superior court judge Robert McBurney continues his wild rampage (in Sistersong Women of Color Reproductive Justice Collective v. Georgia). In an opinion replete with screeching rhetoric (yes, even The Handmaid’s Tale makes an appearance) but devoid of coherent reasoning, McBurney holds that the Georgia heartbeat law violates the rights to privacy and to equal protection under the state constitution.
One week later, the Georgia supreme court will prevent McBurney’s injunction from taking effect.